Author's Note - I'm very sorry for not updating sooner! With all of the homework that's been dumped onto me, it was tough to find time to write. Nevertheless, here you go! ...Things will start to get more bizarre in the next few chapters... ;)
Happy 37th Birthday to Kevin Stea/Swifty:)
Disclaimer - I do not own "Newsies" or any of the newsboys. :( But I do own Kaitlyn (me) and Brittany Andrews (original character). Kristina and Sarah belong to themselves.
Shout-Outs -
sweets09 - My pleasure! I'm very glad you like it. :)
xLittlexItalyx - Thank you! I'll update whenever I can.
RibbonHeidster - Thanks! I'm glad you like it and it makes you laugh. Can you guess why I called this crazy story "Pendemonium"? ((Laughs)) :D
Heavenly Princess - I'm overjoyed to hear you like it! n.n
Susie Minnesota - Thanks! I love to write, and most of it pours out naturally onto the paper (or in this case, onto Microsoft Word ((laughs)) ). I thought it would be interesting to set the boys in 2007. :)
sharpieKD - ((Laughs)) Good idea! I just might do that (later) in the story. :)
Chapter III - Go Home Already!
Sarah bounded down the stairs, still in astonishment. Brittany didn't send the boys here to scare my friends and I for revenge...? If she didn't do it... Why in the heck are they here...?
As Sarah entered the basement family room, she found the boys poking random objects and pushing buttons on electronics, sitting on the couch, turning the volume on the television and the portable CD player up and down, as well as flipping through the channels.
"GASP! GIVE THAT BACK!" Kristina hollered at Racetrack, who had picked up something and held it close to his face in attempt to see what it was. She tried to snatch it from him, but he began running around the room with the small item, Kristina right on his tail. "YOU LITTLE PUNK!"
On the other side of the room, "Umm... Could you please not play with that...?" Kaitlyn asked in a small voice, sounding very apprehensive. "It's my dad's computer... He will be very upset if anything happens to it...!"
"Huh? Oh, dis thing? Sorry." Jack refrained from pressing buttons on the computer's light gray keyboard, but kept his eyes glued on it. A puzzling expression remained plastered onto his peach-colored face.
"Thanks," she said quietly, so Jack could scarcely hear her, but nodded in response.
"Hey, Blink!" Mush pointed to the small air hockey table. Two bright orange air hockey mallets were laid out on the table, along with three claret tinted air hockey pucks. "Wadda 'sppose dat is?"
"Dunno. Don't look like anythin' I'se ever seen." Mush and Blink walked over towards it, and began examining it.
Spot was still flipping channels on the Toshiba television set. His mouth was dropped a bit in awe, and his eyes were mesmerized onto the screen. With this magical "remote" device... He felt... He felt...
...In control.
In the meantime, Kristina was enraged as she ran around like a chicken with its head cut off, chasing after Racetrack. He was a pretty fast little guy, too. "STOP THAT! GIVE IT BACK! LET GO OF MY IPOD, YOU EVIL IPOD-STEALER PERSON!"
"I wanna see what it is!" he responded a bit cockily, a trace of whininess in his voice. He ducked beneath the air hockey table and bounded over the leather cream-colored chair, then accidentally slammed into Spot, who dropped the remote and stumbled a bit, but caught his fall.
Spot scowled at him as he carefully picked up the remote. "Watch where you'se goin', Race!"
Sarah's brow wrinkled and she gave them all a solemn look. Over the noise of the television, the stereo pumping out tunes, the quarrelling of the boys, and the shrieks of Kristina attempting to get her iPod back, she raised her voice. "WHAT IN THE HOLY LLAMA SAUCE IS GOING ON DOWN HERE?"
Everyone's bodies seemed to ice over. Each head slowly twisted around to see the livid face of Sarah, who was gnashing her teeth. Like in cartoons, when the characters were angry, her ears appeared to have a trace of steam fuming out of them.
"Okay," Sarah began, first addressing the two girls. "Brittany didn't send them." Whirling around to face the boys, she said, "Everybody. Out. NOW." The sternness in her tone echoed throughout the room.
"Uh... Umm..." Kaitlyn tensely tilted her head down so her long chocolate hair fell into her porcelain-white face. A row of sweat beads formed on her brow.
Kristina leaned over towards her and whispered in her ear. "Not you. The boys."
"...Umm... Umm..."
-:-
"Okay, boys," Kristina announced as they all entered the living room.
"Out you go!" finished Sarah, unlatching the front door and holding it for the young men to exit.
They exited one at a time, still looking very befuddled.
"Mine!" Kristina snatched her iPod back from Racetrack, who was examining the object just as he was exiting the house. When she took it back, he frowned.
"Go home!" And with that, Sarah slammed the door closed. "Sheesh!"
"...I wonder what that was all about...?"
"Not sure, but it was pretty creepy." Kristina tucked her iPod safely away into her pajama pants pocket. "Never in my sad little life have I seen anything as disturbing as six guys dressed as newsboys in the basement." She shivered. "It's going to give me nightmares for a month! Maybe even a year!"
"...But we did lock all of the doors and windows, though, before we went downstairs and went to sleep... Didn't we, Sarah? Kristina?" Kaitlyn glanced around helplessly, an uneasy expression dawning upon her pale face.
"Yah... We did. I think."
"Then how did they get in here if we locked everything?" Sarah shifted her weight from one foot to another.
Kaitlyn bolted the front door again, and the trio of friends checked every window and door in the house. If the six boys did sneak in, they would leave a trace of being there, since boys were... Well, let's just say that boys were... Um... Boys. And boys are usually messy and leave traces of where they've been by tracking dirt and mud, or something.
"Everything was locked. Everything was exactly as we left it. Nothing is out of place," Sarah explained when they were all back downstairs again. She was pacing back and forth in the family room. "So how did those guys get in here?"
"We should have asked them before they left," Kristina said, shaking her head in frustration.
"...Hey... What's this...?" Kaitlyn bent down and cautiously picked up something small from the ground. "...It's..."
Cringing, Kristina exclaimed, "EEEEWWW! Nasty! It's somebody's hanky!"
"...Um..." She felt her face warm up, and a string of sweat beads form on her forehead.
"Kate, that thing is disgusting. I think I'd put it in the trash if I were you."
She tilted her head, still holding onto the handkerchief, but now by the tips of her fingers. "...This red handkerchief doesn't look like it was used, though..."
Sarah edged closer to the hanky and examined it. "That's good. Maybe one of the boys who was here left it on accident."
"Yah, 'cause none of us have a hanky... Must be one of the boys'." Shrugging, Kristina added, "Oh well. What time is it?"
Upon seeing the glowing blue numbers on the alarm clock, Sarah jumped a bit. "Yikes! It's almost five thirty in the morning! No wonder I'm so exhausted..."
"...Me too... Perhaps we can sleep a few more hours before we do anything else... I could fall asleep right here, right now..."
"I thought you were a night owl, Kate."
"...Kristina, I am a night owl... I get it from my dad... But I usually stay up until one or two in the morning... Not five thirty in the morning...! That's way too early...!" Kaitlyn chuckled. She covered her mouth with a hand and yawned quietly, dropping the scarlet handkerchief onto the off-white carpet with her left hand. She plopped down onto her bright blue and green sleeping bag on the floor in front of the T.V. and wriggled into it. "...I'm sorry, but I'm just too tired to stay up and concentrate on anything right now..."
"That's okay," replied Kristina, also getting into her sleeping bag, which was navy blue and gray. "I could use some more rest, too. After all, I do need my beauty sleep!"
Sarah and Kaitlyn giggled. Sarah sat down onto the couch, and soon after, they were all out light a light.
-:-
The group of six newsies slouched as they left the house. The thick smoke-colored wisps of clouds still hang low over the busy city. The downpour was ongoing as it pounded down to the earth. The young men doubted it would let up soon.
"Dey kicked us out!" griped Mush, hanging his head low.
"Agh!" Jack held his arms above his head in attempt to shield his face from the harsh shower.
Racetrack folded his arms across his chest in attempt to keep warm, and exhaled deeply. Then asked flatly, his voice practically dripping with irony, "Now what?"
"Now we-"
Honk! An azure Astro van whizzed by the group of boys, splattering a huge puddle of water all over them and their clothes.
"Oh, god!" screamed the short black-haired Italian. His eyes had expanded to the size of fifty-cent pieces.
"What the heck was dat thing!" Spot demanded, his voice rising. He vigilantly slid his slingshot out of the front pocket of his brown pants.
They were already sopping wet and frustrated. Now they were even more drenched and aggravated. Great. Just great... Just what they needed... A bunch of crabby newsies... Not!
Another vehicle drove by. A shiny black '98 Ford, to be precise.
"Oh, god!" The Italian kid was totally freaking out.
"There's people in dere!" noted Kid Blink, stunned. He was squinting to get a better look.
"What?" Jack was shocked.
"Those things that just went by," David began, "Look as if they're some breed of gigantic bugs!"
Another car drove by. There was a large blue bus behind it. The bus driver slowed to a stop near a small crowd of people who were huddled near a blue sign across the street. Once the doors of the bus had opened, the people hustled to climb aboard.
"Oh, god! Da bugs are eatin' da people!"
Whap! Spot had slapped the back of Race's head, and hard, too.
"What was dat for!"
But all he received in reply was the legendary Spot Conlon glare and sneer.
The last of the people hurried on board the automobile, pushing and shoving each other to get on before the others.
"But those goils said dat they didn't put people in the boxes!" Mush frowned.
"Those ain't boxes, Mush! You weren't listenin', were ya? They'se bugs! Real big bugs! Those goils said dey don't put people in da boxes. Dey didn't say nothin' 'bout big bugs goin' around eatin' people! I mean, did you see? Da bugs had people goin' in 'em, so dey must've ate 'em! And did-"
"Blink."
"What?"
"Put a lid on it," Spot demanded. He was sodden wet, and his temper was on the brink of taking over.
Blink pursed his lips together and didn't breathe a word.
Spot fiddled with the wooden slingshot in his right hand, then tightened his grip on it.
The bus was on the other side of the street, a few yards to the right of the newsies. It made a pssss noise as the automatic doors shut. The driver stopped the last person to climb aboard, though, and spoke with him for a moment. The young man who was talking to the bus driver began panicking and flailing his arms in the air, looking nervous and slightly scared. Actually, he didn't have enough money to pay for his bus fare, but the boys didn't know that...
Kid Blink noticed Spot messing with his slingshot. "Spot, shoot it! We'se can't let dat bug eat those people!"
Spot crinkled his nose and gave Blink an are-you-out-of-your-mind! sort of look. Trying to keep his cool, he puffed out his chest. "No! Why should I? They ain't never done nothin' for me."
"C'mon, Spot! They can't just get away with eatin' people!" Mush chimed in.
David tensed up and rubbed his pruney hands together to try to warm up a little. "Uh, guys? Maybe we should just get out of here." Alas, they either didn't seem to hear him, or they were just ignoring him.
Racetrack was shivering like mad from the bitter rain.
Spot stood there with his chin in his hand. He was pretending to think about something.
"C-c-cold!" Mush whined again.
"Fine," he said flatly. He grabbed a small black marble from his front pocket. "Hope ya get a kick outta dis."
The bus' engine reared up, and it started again slowly, its swiftness gradually increasing.
Placing it in the marble in the slingshot, he pulled the rubber band back, cocked his head and closed one eye, he aimed for the "bug". Okay... Wait... Steady... And...
Wssshhhhhh! The small object flew and hit the bug square in the eye! Well, what they thought was the bug's eye... Small pieces of it shattered once the marble hit it.
"YOU DANG KIDS!" scolded the person from inside the "bug" as it went by them. His face was red, and he had a crazed look in his bloodshot eyes. Waving a fist around in the air out of the "eye", he yelled at them again. "YOU STOP THAT, YOU HEAR? I COULD SUE YOU FOR THIS, YOU LITTLE BRATS! BUT I WON'T, BECAUSE I'M SUCH A NICE GUY! YOU HEAR?"
Utter silence.